���The Washington Post Company (��PC�� provides an excellent example.
We bought all of our WPC holdings in mid-1973 at a price of not more than one-fourth of the then per-share business value of the enterprise. Calculating the price/value ratio required no unusual insights. Most security analysts, media brokers, and media executives would have estimated WPC�� intrinsic business value at $400 to $500 million just as we did. And its $100 million stock market valuation was published daily for all to see. Our advantage, rather, was attitude: we had learned from Ben Graham that the key to successful investing was the purchase of shares in good businesses when market prices were at a large discount from underlying business values.
Most institutional investors in the early 1970s, on the other hand, regarded business value as of only minor relevance when they were deciding the prices at which they would buy or sell. This now seems hard to believe. However, these institutions were then under the spell of academics at prestigious business schools who were preaching a newly-fashioned theory: the stock market was totally efficient, and therefore calculations of business value - and even thought, itself ��were of no importance in investment activities. (We are enormously indebted to those academics: what could be more advantageous in an intellectual contest - whether it be bridge, chess, or stock selection than to have opponents who have been taught that thinking is a waste of energy?)
Through 1973 and 1974, WPC continued to ! do fine as a business, and intrinsic value grew. Nevertheless, by yearend 1974 our WPC holding showed a loss of about 25%, with market value at $8 million against our cost of $10.6 million. What we had thought ridiculously cheap a year earlier had become a good bit cheaper as the market, in its infinite wisdom, marked WPC stock down to well below 20 cents on the dollar of intrinsic value.
You know the happy outcome. Kay Graham, CEO of WPC, had the brains and courage to repurchase large quantities of stock for the company at those bargain prices, as well as the managerial skills necessary to dramatically increase business values. Meanwhile, investors began to recognize the exceptional economics of the business and the stock price moved closer to underlying value. Thus, we experienced a triple dip: the company�� business value soared upward, per-share business value increased considerably faster because of stock repurchases and, with a narrowing of the discount, the stock price outpaced the gain in per-share business value.
We hold all of the WPC shares we bought in 1973, except for those sold back to the company in 1985�� proportionate redemption. Proceeds from the redemption plus yearend market value of our holdings total $221 million.��br>
��1985 Berkshire Hathaway Chairman�� Letter to Shareholders, Warren Buffett
So, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B) invested $10.6 million into WPC in mid-1973, and by the end of 1985, investment proceeds and year-end market value of WPC holdings totaled $221 million. Thus, the company ended up with almost 21 times original cost on this investment (not bad for 12 and a half years).
How did this investment nirvana come about?
Buffett bought WPC at around one-quarter of then per-share intrinsic value while others were concerned with the price showing on the ticker and efficient market theory, etc.
By year-end 1974, Buffett was confronted with a 25% loss on his original investment. However, that didn�� faze him --! because ! the Washington Post Company (the business) was doing just fine.
Eventually, Buffett was vindicated. The ��usiness value soared upward, per-share business value increased considerably faster because of stock repurchases and, with a narrowing of the discount, the stock price outpaced the gain in per-share business value.��br>
While few of us have made 20 times our money on an investment, we can all follow Buffett�� investment process. To do so, we must properly analyze business value, not get carried away with general market sentiment, and buy with a margin of safety. Then, of course, we need to have patience and wait for the market to recognize true business value. If we can follow these few simple steps, we should be able to improve our investment outcomes.
Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2014: Southwest Airlines Co (LUV)
Southwest Airlines Co., incorporated on March 9, 1967, operates Southwest Airlines, a passenger airline, which provides scheduled air transportation in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was serving 72 cities in 37 states throughout the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company added addition services in two new states and three new cities: Charleston, South Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Newark, New Jersey. Southwest provides point-to-point. On May 2, 2011, the Company acquired AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AirTran).
AirTran�� route system provides hub-and-spoke, rather than point-to-point, service, with approximately half of AirTran�� flights originating or terminating at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia. AirTran also serves a range of markets with non-stop service from bases of operation in Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Orlando, Florida. As of December 31, 2011, AirTran was serving 68 United States and near-international destinations, including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, The Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Bermuda. As of January 31, 2012, AirTran served 65 destinations. During 2011, approximately 71% of Southwest�� customers flew non-stop, and Southwest�� average aircraft trip stage length was 664 miles with an average duration of approximately 1.8 hours.
As of December 31, 2011, Southwest offered 25 weekday roundtrips from Dallas Love Field to Houston Hobby, 13 weekday roundtrips from Phoenix to Las Vegas, 13 weekday roundtrips from Burbank to Oakland, and 12 weekday roundtrips from Los Angeles International to Oakland. Southwest offers connecting service opportunities from over 60 Southwest cities to different Volaris airports in Mexico including Aguascalientes, Guadalajara, Mexico City (MEX), Mexico City-Toluca (TLC), Morelia, and Zacatecas. The Company�� International Connect portal conducts two separate transac! tions: one with Southwest�� reservation system and one with Volaris�� reservation system.
Southwest bundles fares into three categories: Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select. Wanna Get Away fares are lowest fares. Business Select fares are refundable and changeable, and funds may be applied toward future travel on Southwest. Business Select fares also include additional perks, such as priority boarding, a frequent flyer point multiplier, priority security and ticket counter access in select airports, and one complimentary adult beverage coupon for the day of travel. The Company�� Internet Website, southwest.com, is the avenue for Southwest Customers to purchase tickets online. During 2011, southwest.com accounted for approximately 78% of all Southwest bookings. During 2011, approximately 84% of Southwest�� Passenger revenues came through its Website, including revenues from SWABIZ, the Company�� business travel reservation Web page.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Moskowitz]
Southwest still has strong upward momentum. Delta offers a better valuation, a higher yield, and the stock has been outperforming Southwest over the past year. That said, with a weak consumer not seeming to gain much strength, fewer fees might be appealing at Southwest.
Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2014: Pacific Star Network Ltd(PNW.AX)
Pacific Star Network Limited operates as a radio broadcasting company in Australia. It holds two Melbourne AM commercial broadcasting licenses and broadcasts 24/7 on MTR 1377, a talk radio station that broadcasts across the Melbourne metropolitan area, and the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas; and 1116 SEN Sports Entertainment Network, which broadcasts sports radio in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The company was formerly known as Data & Commerce Ltd and changed its name to Pacific Star Network Limited in August 2004. Pacific Star Network Limited is based in Richmond, Australia.
Best Oil Companies To Watch In Right Now: American Learning Corporation(ALRN)
American Learning Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various services to children with developmental delays and disabilities in New York. The company provides early intervention program services to children from birth through two years of age; preschool program services to children from three to five years of age; and school staffing services to school age children in individual or group settings. It offers its services in home environments or in centers, such as day care or schools. The company was formerly known as American Claims Evaluation, Inc. and changed its name to American Learning Corporation in March 2010. American Learning Corporation was founded in 1981 and is based in Jericho, New York.
Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2014: Lam Research Corporation(LRCX)
Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipments used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers etch products that remove portions of various films from the wafer in the creation of semiconductor devices. Its etch products include dielectric etch, conductor etch, three-dimensional integrated circuit etch, MEMS devices, CMOS image sensors, and power devices for etching process. Lam Research Corporation also provides wafer cleaning steps that comprise post-etch and post-strip cleans, and pre-diffusion and pre-deposition cleans; and single-wafer wet clean and plasma-based bevel clean systems. The company offers its products to semiconductor manufacturers. It operates in the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. Lam Research Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.
Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2014: Nuveen Select Tax Free Income Portfolio III(NXR)
Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio 3 is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments Inc. It is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors, Inc and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of United States. It invests in the investment-grade municipal securities rated Baa and BBB or better. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor?s (S&P) National Municipal Bond Index and Lipper General and Insured Unleveraged Municipal Debt Funds Average. Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio 3 was formed on July 24, 1992 and is domiciled in the United States.
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